Indonesia's Taufik retires from badminton

Indonesian badminton star Taufik Hidayat waves to audience emotionally at his farewell match after being defeated by non-seeded Indian shuttler Sai Praneeth in the second round of qualification match in the annual international badminton super series Indonesia Open (21-15, 12-21 and 17-21) on June 12. 2013. [Photo/Xinhua]

JAKARTA -- Indonesian acclaimed badminton star Taufik Hidayat bid farewell to professional athlete career where he won remarkable fame and everything he has now after dedicating most of his life to the sport and making Indonesia one of the  prominent badminton countries.

He announced retirement after being defeated by non-seeded Indian shuttler Sai Praneeth in the second round of qualification match in the annual international badminton super series Indonesia Open (21-15, 12-21 and 17-21) on Wednesday night.

"I thank PSBI (Indonesian Badminton Association) for developing my career. I hope that young athletes could have better performance and achievement than I did," Taufik told reporters.

Commenting on his last match in his professional career that ended tragically, Taufik conveyed his deepest apology to his fans and supporters.

As one of the best badminton players, the 31-year-old Taufik has won many men's single titles in his 16-year career, including Asian Games in Busan, South Korea and Doha, Qatar in 2002 and 2004 respectively, Athens 2004 Olympics Games and 2005 International Badminton Federation (IBF) World Championship in Anaheim.

Taufik also gained six titles in Indonesia Open from 1999 to 2006. He also helped national men's badminton team win Thomas Cup in Kuala Lumpur 2000 and Guangzhou 2002.

Anton Subowo, a senior PBSI official, expressed gratitude to Taufik for his contribution to the country during his awesome career.

After his departure from play ground, Taufik planned to focus on his badminton academy and his sport hall called Taufik Hidayat Arena located in Ciracas, East Jakarta.

The futuristic style building is built on 6,600 square meters of land, provides complete training and accommodation for talented badminton players from home and abroad.

Many badminton players from China, Singapore, Japan, Canada and Mexico had undergone intensive training sessions in the badminton hall under the supervision of Taufik and his coach team.